India, July 31 -- It was supposed to be a showdown between a speed demon and probably the greatest-ever Grandmaster in chess history. But it turned out to be a complete whitewash as Magnus Carlsen thrashed Nihal Sarin in their Esports World Cup quarter-final showdown, winning 2.5-0.5 on Thursday.

The first game saw both GMs play out a draw and then in the second game, Carlsen bagged a win, even though earlier, he had offered a draw by repetition to his opponent, which was rejected. Carlsen simply smiled in response.

Then in the third game, it was all Carlsen as he totally destroyed Sarin and clinched victory to qualify for the semi-finals.

Speaking after his defeat, Sarin said, "Of course, I just got completely crushed today, but yeah,...